Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Religion News
Licensed to Sin: Part I

Licensed to Sin: Part I

Last updated on: March 29, 2021 at 7:00 am by Matthew Distefano

Licensed to Sin: Part I 2021-03-27T12:04:12-06:00 Matthew Distefano

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A lot of Christians have a skewed view of sin. If I had to guess at a percentage, it would be about fifty. In all honesty, it may be higher, but perhaps I only say that because I grew up in a predominantly white, entirely conservative, Evangelical church. And these folks are obsessed with sin. Sin this. Sin that. Sin. Sin. Sin. Why is this so? The cynic in me says it’s all about controlling the masses, but it’s likely much more complicated than that. This whole obsession with sin goes way back to the early days of Christianity, takes a while to fully develop, and then finally solidifies in the fifth century with Augustine.

And look, I’m not trying to put all the blame on one person, but Augustine (and his mistranslation of Romans 5:12) is basically the guy we can thank for this. It was he who finalized the now skewed doctrine of original sin, which essentially says that human beings are “totally depraved,” and thus are a massa damnata, or “condemned crowd,” as it were. In modern times, you hear Calvinists hammering this doctrine home in just about every sermon, but in all reality, it has its tendrils in more far-reaching places than Calvinism. It’s everywhere, and is described in many different ways. Here’s some of the things you’re likely to hear from the pulpit:

You cannot please God on your own. None of your deeds are “good.” They are but filthy rags in the eyes of God.
Because Adam sinned, you were born a sinner. You have been depraved from the start, and if you don’t accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you’re in danger of hellfire.
Because of one man’s sin, you have a fallen nature. There is not a part of you not touched by sin. Your heart, mind, soul, will, thoughts, and desires are totally depraved.

Now, while it is true that Paul talks about sin entering the world through one man, and death through sin for all who follow, it’s not true that that should be plucked out of Romans 5 in order to make a fully-developed doctrine of sin. Doing so is nonsensical. Why? Because Paul isn’t focused so much on sin here, but is trying to make a point in just a few verses, namely that even though sin entered through one man (Adam), how much greater is it that life also enters through one man (Christ)? Simply put: This passage is not so much about sin; it’s about the undoing of sin that comes with Christ’s “free gift” (Rom. 5:16). For all. Full stop.

Nevertheless, unlike Paul, Christians still seem more concerned with the universality of the sin portion of this passage than the universality of the life portion. And so, we’re going to explore this topic throughout this article and then in the next, and hopefully put forth an understanding of sin that is less harmful than the one currently floating around in most Christian churches these days.

Original Sin Redefined

Even though I just threw shade at the doctrine of original sin, I do think there is something to the fact that we are all born with a certain “sin nature.” Now, please don’t misunderstand me here. I am not saying we are totally depraved. I am not saying sin is how we are to be defined. I am just saying that there is a part of us that has a propensity to rebel against God. Think of it like the dark side of the Force from Star Wars—there is a light side of the Force, and a dark side, and force-sensitive beings are drawn in opposite directions from each. In Judaism, there is a term for this: Yetzer.

In most Christian churches, this is not a term that is discussed, but it is something that should be understood. To my mind, it’s the most accurate understanding of the human propensity toward sin. I just gave you the Star Wars analogy, but also think of it like this: Two figures, sitting atop each shoulder, pulling us in opposite directions. On one shoulder sits the “good” angel, drawing us toward compassion, empathy, and love. This is the yetzer ha-tov—the “good impulse.” But on the other shoulder sits the “bad” angel, drawing us toward evil, malice, and selfishness. This is the yetzer hara—the “bad impulse.” Or, if you’d like, think of Frodo Baggins’ struggle with The Ring of Power. Throughout his journeys, when faced with trials and tribulations, he is in a constant battle with, not only Sauron’s forces of evil, but the power of the Ring itself. Does he put it on his finger in order to disappear? Does he leave it off because, deep down, he knows that it will one day strip him of who he really is, just like it did to Sméagol? Only he can choose. Two forces, two yetzers, pulling in opposite directions within one brave Hobbit.

Now, am I suggesting that there are literal angels and demons sitting atop our shoulders? No. This is an analogy, and a damn good one. We’ve probably all felt it in our daily lives: A homeless widow asks you for money, and you are pulled toward helping her until you kick around in your head all the things that twenty-dollar bill could buy; a coworker starts gossiping about your manager, Susan, and before you can disengage and get back to work, you are drawn into the conversation like a puppy picking up the smell a doggy treat. Again, it’s not that we are totally corrupt or even totally good; it’s that we are complex, and have the ability to choose good or evil throughout the day.

At this point, you may be asking yourself: What IS goodness? And what IS evil? In fact, what IS sin, exactly?

Well, I’m glad you asked, because theologian Cornelius Plantinga has a great definition that I find most helpful. He writes:

Sin is disruption of created harmony and then resistance to divine restoration of that harmony . . . God hates sin not just because it violates his law but, more substantively, because it violates shalom, because it breaks the peace, because it interferes with the way things are supposed to be. (Indeed, that is why God has laws against a good deal of sin.) God is for shalom and therefore against sin.

We can obviously have a discussion about God’s supposed “laws” and what all that means, but the point is this: Sin is the disruption of harmony, the disruption of shalom. It’s the disruption of peace. More than simply a list of peccadillos, sin is any violence committed against one’s self, one’s neighbor, or even one’s planet. As Paul puts it in Romans 3:23, sin is directly attached to “falling short of the glory of God,” which Exodus 33:18–19 describes as “goodness, mercy, and compassion.” Goodness towards one’s self and others. Mercy shown to those who may not “deserve” it. Compassion in everything we do.

Again, though, our proclivity for sin is not proof that we are totally depraved. We can always make choices that lead to harmony and peace. And while I don’t believe we have the type of free will many Christians believe we have—we’ll get into that in the follow-up article—we all have a free will of sorts, and can always make choices that are more in line with our yetzer ha-tov than our yetzer hara.

If you wanna get to know me better, please follow me on social media. I’m pretty active on all platforms:

Also, if you’ve been digging my work on here, and want to see me be able to continue writing as close to full-time as humanly possible, please take a look at my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/mjdistefano. Even $1 a month helps bigly!!!

Previous Post

March 25, 2021

The Gospel of Bad News?

Next Post

March 30, 2021 Licensed to Sin: Part II

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atonement Book Review Early Church Eschatology eternal torment Hell Hermeneutics LGBTQ+ Mimetic Theory Mysticism News Old Testament Podcast Poetry Politics Prayer Religion Sacrifice Satire Soteriology Theology Uncategorized Violence

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 June 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 June 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Ahab's wicked wife, notorious for her cruelty?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Michal Athaliah Jezebel Abigail

Books by This Author Books by All Set Free

See All Titles »